Former NFL running back Zac Stacy says that a video which appears to show him violently abusing his ex-girlfriend in front of their infant child was 'staged' and was an attempt on her part to extort him.
Stacy, once of the New York Jets, was arrested a month ago in Orlando, Florida after the alleged assault on his former partner and the mother of his child, Stacy Evans.
Disturbing home security footage of the incident showed Stacy appearing to punch Evans on numerous occasions before throwing her towards a television and then their child's buggy while she cried out for him to stop the attack.
A subsequent warrant issued for the 30-year-old described how Stacy had thrown Evans to the floor "like a rag doll" before he was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief which could land him in prison for 20 years if convicted.
However, arrest footage obtained by TMZ shows that Stacy told cops that Evans had staged the assault for the benefit of the recording cameras after he had denied her romantic approaches.
"It's just a case of bitterness, man," he says in the footage of his arrest. "That's why she did this – the whole assault thing, she staged it. She set me up.
"The whole thing was staged," he added. "All she's trying to do is get money out of me. She got a reaction out of me."
Warning: video contains graphic content
The former NFL star also told the Orlando Police Department that he had just emerged from treatment for anxiety and depression as well as finding out that Evans had an affair with his financial advisor, but that he had shown up to her residence to offer his support as a parent.
"She knew I was down, she knew I was going through anxiety and depression. She knew I was trying to close this gap that's between me and my son and she's just upset that she got caught, and she's upset I'm not taking care of him like she expected.
"And now she took it this far."
Stacy, however, admitted that the evidence caught on the security footage was "f*cked up", adding: "I don't know what man – how any man could have handled that situation."
Evans, though, offered a fierce rebuttal of Stacy's claims in a video statement on Monday and said he was "playing victim" with his claims.
"I don't know how you can stage getting you ass beat on multiple occasions. You can't" she said.
"This is what abusers do. They will make you seem like you're the crazy one and that they're the victim.
"It really makes me more upset that the cops are consoling him, telling him to breathe. Everything about this makes me uncomfortable."
She had previously sought a restraining order against Stacy while claiming that he had been violent to her since she became pregnant with their child, with a report from UK tabloid The Sun detailing a series of domestic disturbance calls to police.